Collision Course II : Battle of the Bonds
by RiokuAvalon
Summary: How can Kaiba, a man with no emotion, tell Jou how he feels about him, without losing the only friend he really has? Maybe that one night meant more to him than it did to Jou, or maybe to Jou, it meant nothing at all. SetoxJou, Rated for Lemon
1. The Jerk and the Mutt

**Oh my god guys, can you believe it? A sequel! -squeels- I have been working on this for a LONG time, but I never had time to finish it. Then I discovered the wonders of first period spare at school, and things went from there. **

**So, where did we leave these guys off? Oh yes, as friends. Don't be decieved though, you all know they are not going to STAY that way. Let things develop eh? That is how I work.**

**For those of you joining us for the FIRST time, you don't NEED to read Collision Course, but I do recommend it, as I make referances to it in this story. Think this will be as popular as my last one? We can only hope.**

**So, my promise to you guys, is...I shall reply to every review I get, large or small. I will not take two months to post another chapter (Unless, like last time, I have another unexpected visit to the hospital). And for the love of god, I will TRY to improve my grammer/spelling errors. I know, an 18 year old should know better, but I just get all these ideas, and start typing so fast...well, you know. ANYWAYS, I won't hold you off any longer.**

**-drum roll- Now here it is, the long awaited: Collision Course II : Battle of the Bonds.**

**Enjoy!

* * *

**

**Chapter One**

"See? Four locator cards already. I am telling you, I have this tournament in the bag."

"I don't know Jou, I am climbing up too."

"Would you guys stop talking about the Tournament for a moment? It is bad enough it is the talk of the whole school."

"Don't listen to her. She just knows nothing about it."

Jou missed the days when he and his friends would meet in the Café for mochas and cookies. He had been so wrapped up in everything going on in the past months that he forgot how good it felt to socialize. So, he spent his Friday afternoon, catching up on the latest gossip, with Yuugi, Anzu and Honda.

"Taya Mazuki at school said that the finalists are going to some tropical paradise for the finale of this thing." Said Anzu, in her usual 'how could you not have known this' tone.

"And how would SHE know anything about the Tournament. She can't even spell Duel Monsters," snapped Honda.

"Her brother works at Kaiba Corp., Duh."

Honda rolled his eyes "Yea, well when you are Seto Kaiba, I am sure you can afford to buy an entire island, I mean, it is not like you have any _friends_," he stressed this word, "to spend your money on."

Jou forced a fake laugh from his throat, but thankfully, no one noticed the fabrication of it.

This forced Jou into a daydream. Seto Kaiba; a drool-worthy topic.

He had spent the better half of two months in the CEO's office, and he had grown upon him. Friends, he could say they were, good friends. Kaiba was not such a bad person once you had gotten used to his sarcastic ways, and vain attitude. Of course, this was something he would never admit to his friends, because, that would be suicide on his behalf.

They were not actually dating…no…he would call it more 'seeing each other'. They didn't know each other well enough to consider dating one another. They rarely spent time together, for fear of someone seeing them, and the chances they did get to hang out, usually included talking about the tournament, working on the tournament, or predicting things about the tournament, confined in Kaiba's office.

No, things would have to be kept on the down-low as of right now. Jou had to get used to the fact that Kaiba was his friend before anything could happen. This was alright with him, but in order to get more acquainted with Seto; they needed to spend time in a different atmosphere. And that took some serious planning.

"Jou?"

"What? Hmm? What did you say?"

"You were daydreaming again, weren't you Jou?" Yuugi was like the eyes Jou never had, always observing everything

"Yea, I am just tired I guess." Not really, he had gotten at least ten hours sleep the night before.

"You should get more sleep; I think you are too focused on the tournament and all. I wouldn't worry about it, I know you are going to the finals."

"Thanks Yug, maybe you are right." He glanced down at his watch, "I can go home now, and have time to shower and go to bed."

"Good idea Jou, rest up, and tomorrow we can go dueling."

"Thanks Yug." Jou got up from the table. Anzu and Honda were still bickering about the fine details this person told them, and the rumors that person told them. He doubted they could hear his goodbye, as he left the café, but Yuugi gave a wave to him as he left.

The wind was chilled, and blowing enough, so you had to wrap yourself up in a jacket to keep it from nipping at you. He made his way to the direction of his house, but as soon as he was out of range of the café, he turned around in the opposite direction, and made for the business district of Domino.

* * *

Kaiba typed furiously on his laptop. The trademark of the CEO, he was never without the thing. It was like his lifeline to the world, or his lifeline to the fake reality he thought was the world. 

Between organizing the tournament, and making sure everyone was following the rules, all Kaiba had time to do, was duel, and work. That was all he ever did in his life; duel and work. However, there was one exception this time. Jou. Kaiba thought of it as an escape from everything, if he could spend a bit of time with the blonde, at least once a week (though no one knew about this). They would get dinner, or just stay in his office and talk. Just 'hang out', if it was appropriate for him to use that term.

"Here, these were updated at 12 noon today. Sixteen people are no longer in the tournament. All the rest of the stats are there." Melanie plopped a pile of papers onto Kaiba's desk.

"Thanks."

Melanie gave a small smile, "No problem."

Good old Melanie. Always loyal, and not afraid of Kaiba (something odd to find in a person). He did not mind her getting away with things anyone else would die for because…well…she was Melanie. Friend, yes, he could say she was a friend. And he never realized how important courtesy was to someone, until he started to show her, how appreciative he was for all the work she did. Another thing he learned from Jou.

Right, back to work. No rest for Kaiba Seto when there was a Tournament to run.

"Hey Rich Boy, you know, staring at that thing all day is bad for your eyes."

Kaiba looked up to see Jou enter his room. Now, no work was going to be completed, as he would have to listen to the play-by-play of his most recent duels. Something that was not only boring, but half the time Jou could not remember what it was he was talking about, which led to pauses of "…and then, wait, what was I talking about? Oh yea..."

Jou held his fingers up, "four."

Kaiba gave a 'humph' sound, and resumed his work.

Jou merely chucked to himself, obviously basking in his glory and self image.

"Have you even been out to duel yet?" Come to think of it, not only had Kaiba never mentioned dueling anyone in awhile, Jou seldom saw him out of his office.

"Just a bit, I will when I have the time."

Frowning, Jou walked over to behind the CEO's desk, and grabbed his arm; "C'mon, let's go now."

"I have work to do," said Kaiba, yanking his arm away from the blonde.

Jou threw his hands up in the air, "You are ALWAYS doing something. You stay in here all day, and who knows, all night. I never see you leave this place."

Kaiba stopped what he was doing, "I told you, I have work to do. You have no idea what it's like to put one of these things on. It is not all 'fun and games' as I am sure you would like to believe; it is a lot of boring and tiresome work. And if you have never worked a day in your life, you wouldn't understand that."

This was one of those times, where Jou would like nothing more than to hit Seto rather hard across the face.

"Because you know that much about me, you conceited jerk. Fine, I don't give a shit. Stay in your fucking office all day; sorry for trying to shed a little light on your bleak and dreary existence."

Kaiba looked up, but Jou was already making his way out of the door. Fucking wonderful. Now Seto would have to go after him, least the blonde did something really stupid.

'Which way did he go?"

Melanie did not look up from her papers, but pointed to the elevator.

Kaiba mumbled a 'thanks' and dashed towards the stairs.

"You two fight like a married couple," was all he could hear from Mel, and he ran down three stairs at a time.

By the time he got to the bottom, he was worn out, and sick of this whole ordeal. He bolted for the front doors, when he heard someone behind him.

"You're panting like a dog."

He turned around, and Jou was standing there, with both an amused and irritated look on his face.

"I have to admit though," Jou looked at his watch, "that must set the record for the fastest time running down several floors of stairs."

Seto did not say much, but simply glared at the blonde, still out of breath.

"Why Seto, I did not know I was that important to you." Jou said this in a manner in which he was being serious, in a 'I am pretending I am not serious" sense.

Kaiba had to smile at this.

"You are a fucking idiot."

"Want to take the idiot out for coffee?"

Kaiba looked above him. Somewhere up there, was his laptop, the work still waiting to be done, Melanie still going through the Tournament records. He got that idea out of his head. "Fuck it all, let's go for coffee."

* * *

Kaiba looked out the window. People were passing by, several with duel disks on their arms, looking happy, and chatting about this and that. He clenched his mug of hot coffee, happy for a break. This, he would never admit to Jou, but he was indeed, happy. 

"See? I told you, you needed a break."

Seto grinned, but did not say anything. Just this once, he would let Jou think he was correct in commanding him.

It was times like these, warm and comfy looking directly at Kaiba, that Jou could remember that one special night. Seto's breath, the hair that fell in front of his face, the gentle way he kissed him. Looking at the brunette now, you would never think that such a macho guy would be capable of such actions. But he was so irresistible in some ways; how he kissed, his light touch…

"Hey?"

Jou was startled out of his trance, "Hoe, what?"

"I am going to go now; I still have shit loads to do. But, thanks for the coffee eh?" Kaiba packed up his things and got up from the table.

"Wait, who is footing for the bill?" Said Jou, chasing Kaiba.

"You aren't poor Mutt. Later." And with that, the last thing Jou saw was Kaiba's long white coat exiting the door, and he was left with the bill. 'Just when you think he is a nice guy, he has to add a hint of jerk in there somewhere.'

"6.45 please," said the cashier.

Jou rolled his eyes, and handed her a pocketful of change.

* * *

Jou watched the tall form of Kaiba leave the shoppe. He thought it was still unbelievable that Seto would journey out from his office domain for coffee, especially since the prospect of being seen with Jou probably did not appeal to him at all. But then again, Kaiba never really cared about what other people thought about him. But Jou knew he would mention something about being seen with a second rate duelist, and just laugh it off. Come to think of it, Jou couldnt remember the last time Kaiba joked about his second rate dueling skills'. Heh, it was probably because he was kicking some serious ass in this tournament. 

When did Kaiba find the time to actually go out and duel? The kid never left his office, save to go home and sleep. But he had already acquired some cards, which made Jou question if he actually dueled, or saved some for himself. But then again, Kaiba was too proud to do such a thing, so Jou quickly erased that thought from his mind.

AWhat are you doing here?

Jou jumped out of his seat and looked up. Anzu was carrying what must be a whole department store of clothes, and Honda was beside her, looking less than pleased about carrying a bunch of bags, with the logo of clearly a womans store on them.

ACoffee? Said Jou, pointing to his half empty cup.

Honda slumped down in the chair opposite of Jou, AYea, dont mind if I have one myself. Anzu has been dragging me around half of Domino, looking for clothes. Like, how many clothes can you possibly NEED. Not this many, I assure you.

Honda continued his rant, with Jou only half listening. He caught pieces of the conversation, and nodded his head to indicate that he was somewhat paying attention to what was being said, but other than that, he was off in his own little world.

ASo, what are you doing here?

Jou lifted his head, AHmm? Coffee.

AAlone?

AWhy not?

Honda shrugged, AI just never see you anymore. Not like you could have called me, because I was out anyways, but we never seem to spend any time together anymore. I never see you at school half the time, and whenever I can get a hold of you, you have some excuse as to why we cant hang out. Is anything going on man?

Wow, this was awkward. AYou know, the tournament and all need to duel and such, Dad is acting like a psycho. But we did hang out after school today for a bit. I am free tomorrow though?

This seemed to suffice for Honda, as he dropped the subject and proceeded to go over the possible activities they could do tomorrow. God, if he only knew.

* * *

Kaiba walked back to his office, and sat down at his desk. He did not know why, but he always got this particular feeling in his gut when he thought about the blonde. This was probably because he was still not over the fact that they slept together, but oddly enough, that did not make the situation awkward. 

Whatever, he did not have time to worry about relationships with other people. He had to finish some work, and go home. Maybe Mokuba wouldnt be asleep by the time he walked in the door.

He signed onto his laptop. Someone was IMing him.

AWhy cant you just leave me alone? Moaned Kaiba, upon seeing Jous screen name pop up in the corner of his laptop.

DuelmasterJou: Hey

KaibaSeto: Hi?

DuelmasterJou: Whuts up?

KaibaSeto: Gee, since about 30 minutes ago, nothing at all, surprisingly.

Lovely, this was going to be a great conversation. The kid could really pull the strings when it came to interesting things to talk about on the computer.

DuelmasterJou: Ha yea I was just wonderin what u r doing tomorrow. honda has some hair brained idea to go fishing, and I need to get out of it some how.

KaibaSeto: What, dont like fishing? Dont want to spend male bonding time with your best friend?

It was just seemingly hilarious to Kaiba, to imagine Jou and Honda, out in the boonies somewhere, casting out their rods on some serene lake. He could not help but laugh out loud.

DuelmasterJou: haha not funni. I hate fishin and I dun wanna spend time fishin with him.

KaibaSeto: Well, what the hell do you want me to do about it?

DuelmasterJou: I unno, save me somehow

KaibaSeto: I work all of tomorrow, and I dont have time to babysit you.

DuelmasterJou: jerk. Just this once, PLEASE save me

KaibaSeto: You called me a Jerk.

DuelmasterJou: PLEASE

Ugh, Kaiba was planning to spend his Saturday dueling. He needed to get more locator cards, and he rarely had time to do it.

KaibaSeto: I need to do some dueling tomorrow, I have not had the chance to.

DuelmasterJou: Ill come!

KaibaSeto: No.

DuelmasterJou: Why not?

KaibaSeto: No.

DuelmasterJou: Hey Kaiba, remember that time u were drunk? Some interesting things happened eh? I am sure when me n honda have nothing to do but sit n fish that topic will end up being part of our conversation.

KaibaSeto: You wouldnt dare.

DuelmasterJou: I guess ull never kno, will u?

THIS; this was just great. The last thing Kaiba needed was...THAT information to float around.

KaibaSeto: Ill Pick you up at 9

DuelmasterJou: Thanks pal, I owe u one.

Great, Jou just found the perfect piece of blackmail to use against Kaiba. Next thing, he will be demanding a million dollars to keep his trap shut about things like this. No more scotch, Seto thought, I am definitely sticking to Sake from now on.

* * *

Kaiba vaguely remembered how to get to Jous house. His chauffeur had driven there once, but it was a part of town Seto rarely came to, unless he had to. The apartments here were filled with drug dealers, prostitutes, people Kaiba did not like dealing with. He looked down for a moment at the address he scribbled down on a scrap piece of paper. He wasnt going into the apartment building, but waiting outside for Jou. 

Kaiba just assumed it, but the fact that he was driving a $100,000 car, in one of the slummiest places in the city, just looked a tad bit suspicious to him. Whatever.

Seto parked beside the same ratty apartment complex he did when he dropped Jou off from a party once. The grass was browning and still uncut. One of the lower balconies was scattered with empty beer cans. This was not the kind of place Kaiba liked to frequent.

Sooner than later, Jou came out of the house. Seto had to admit, he did not look half bad in his faded blue jeans and white painters shirt. At least Seto could be seen with him out of his school uniform.

"Hi-"

"Get in the car and dont talk."

Jou obeyed unwillingly. This was not the type of day he wanted to spend with Kaiba. Especially since his life was practically in his hands. God only knows how good of a driver Kaiba was.

"Put your seatbelt on."

"I was getting to that."

Kaiba mustered up a menacing stare. It was not as if he was REALLY mad at Jou, but the fact was, he never had friends to begin with. Was this the sort of thing friends did?

Another awkward moment. Jou looked over at Kaiba. He had a relaxed look about him. His left hand was on the steering wheel, and his right hand was resting in his lap. Every now and again, he would look across an intersection, or turn his head to look down side streets. Eh, he wasnt that bad of a driver.

"So, do we have any plans for today?"

"Well, MY plans were to go out and duel, seeing as I never get any days off. But I suppose now that cant happen without you gawking at my every move, as I suppose I have been assigned to babysit you."

Jou grinned, "You didnt have to."

Kaiba shot him a glare but said nothing.

"C'mon Kaiba. You have never hung out with Honda..."

To this, Kaiba muttered a 'Thank God.'

Jou continued, "I hate fishing and sometimes, the kid annoys the hell out of me. I mean, Fishing? Who in their right mind goes fishing on a Saturday?"

Kaiba turned his head, "Fishermen?

Jou rolled his eyes, "Yea, besides them. I mean, I have been fishing once. You sit, and wait for a fish to eat your damn worm, so you can pull it in and let it out again. I see no point."

Seto had to admit, Jou had a point. It was almost funny to hear him rant.

"You can still duel, it isnt like I am going to steal your tactics rich boy."

"Naw, I left my cards at home."

This had to be a lie, as Kaiba never went ANYWHERE without his deck. Eh, Jou would let it pass.

"So then, what is on the schedule today?"

Kaiba made a left at a set of lights. "I dont know, what do you usually do on weekends?"

Jou thought for a moment, "Go out with friends to a party or something."

Right turn. "Well, I am sure we can rule that one out. I dont do parties."

Jou cocked an eyebrow, "I went to a party with you, remember?"

"That wasnt really a party, just a business affair, replied Kaiba, waving his right hand in the air while speaking, AIt is not one of those teen shindigs where you listen to loud music and just get wasted."

"Ah, those are the best," Jou sighed. They were in an upperclass neighbourhood, Jou observed. The lawns to the huge houses were trimmed nicely and very green, adorned with lawn ornaments. "That is a huge mother fucking house." Jou was pointing to the spacious mansion to his right. Pillars of white marble held the roof, and you could see a grand piano in the very large front window. The door was made of stain glass, and at least four cars could fit in the garage.

Kaiba glanced over to where Jou was looking and shrugged, "Eh, mine is bigger."

Jou had never lived in a house larger than the apartment he had now, which wasnt very big. He couldnt even imagine what Kaibas house must look like.

"How do you take care of a place that big if you are never home?"

"I dont, I get other people to." said Kaiba, in a tone that clearly said 'Duh, what were you thinking?'

"You are lucky. Dad never cleans the house."

Kaiba had heard Jou talk about his father only once, and already, Setos opinion of him was not very high. The bruises that adorned the blonde only increased his anger towards the man he had never met. It was moments like this, that Seto could not help but feel some sort of pity towards the blonde. Kaibas Step-Father was hard on him, but he was never beaten. He was hit when he went out of place, but other than that, Gozaburo never struck him.

"We can go to my house, if you want." Kaiba figured that Jou would enjoy some part of that. Kaiba wouldnt of course, because his house was nothing new to him, but the blonde had probably never had the chance to go anywhere as nice.

"What is so great about your house?"

Kaiba jokingly gave a shrug, "I dont know, the tennis courts, indoor swimming pool, plasma screen TV, Eight kinds of game systems. But you know, if none of that interests you, I can always drop you off at Honda's for your fishing excursion."

Jou closed his mouth, and did not talk for the rest of the ride.

* * *

As the two boys neared Kaibas house, Jou noticed that as they went down the long, winding street, the houses got larger and more extravagant. When Kaiba finally put his signal on to turn right, Jou thought there was nothing he could not expect. But he was wrong. 

Kaibas house was like a smaller version of a palace. The marble pillars held up the three enormous stories of the house, and to the right of the house, was a garage that, Jou guessed, could hold around twenty cars. The lawn was pristine, grass greener than Jou thought it could be, and not a weed in sight. The house itself was white, with large oak doors, and very tall windows. Looking into them, Jou could see the first two stories of the house and a grand staircase winding up to more expensive belongings.

Kaiba looked over at Jou, and grinned at his awestruck face. The Mutt had probably never seen something so expensive in his life.

Kaiba pulled around a circular driveway that led off the main one. Jou gapped at the unique fountain in the middle of everything. Clear water was pouring out of the mouth of a swan. This was the first thing Jou approached as he got out of the car.

"Here," said Kaiba, throwing a coin at the blonde, "Make a wish, it might come true."

Jou watched him strut up the large stairs leading to the front doors. Oh well, what the hell, it was worth a short. The blonde tossed the coin into the clear water, and watched it sink to the bottom.

"If you dont hurry up, you are going to get locked out." Kaiba was standing at the top of the stairs now, going through the open doors. Jou sprinted up the steps, taking two at a time, and arrived beside him. He could sense this was going to be exciting.

Kaiba said nothing, but rolled his eyes.

The entrance to the mansion was amazing. Jou looked up to see a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and the stairway he had seen through the window. The walls were white, like the outside of the house, and a plush rug was laid out on the floor, to welcome visitors.

"Master Kaiba, shall I take your coat?"

Jou turned his head to see a servant, or butler, what ever they were called these days, speaking to Seto.

"No, Ill keep it on. Hisuka, would you show our guest around, I have work to attend to."

"This is a nice...What? Wait, you're working? I thought-"

"If I dont remember, Mutt, you were the one insisting on hanging out, if you will. Since I cant do what I had planned for the day, I thought I would catch up on some work I was leaving off for tomorrow, so I have tomorrow, to do what I had planned for today."

Jou said nothing, but watched as the older boy climbed the grand staircase, and disappear to a door on the left.

"Would Master-"

"Its Jou, just call me Jou." Said Jounouchi, to the servant now at his side.

"Very well, Would Master Jou like something to eat?"

Jou sighed, and nodded his head. He was lead off to what he guessed were the kitchens.

"This house was built in 1903, by a wealthy merchant, for his wife and family. Most of the antiques in this house belonged to him, but some Master Kaiba purchased on his own."

Jou pretended to be interested in all this. He was really paying attention to the long hallways, adorned with odd pictures, and detailed scenery. It was like walking through a castle, and Jou immediately felt like he did not belong here.

"You can wait in the dinning room," said Hisuka, "While I find something for you to eat."

"Um, thanks." said Jou. The dinning room, like every other room Jou had been it, looked expensive and dazzling, with many small light fixtures above the pine table. The table itself could have seated many people, and Jou felt very alone sitting at it. How could two people live in such a big house? Especially since Kaiba spent most of his time locked up in his office?

"I found this for now. I suppose Master Kaiba and Yourself will be joining us for lunch?"

Jou jumped at hearing Hisukas voice, but nodded in reply. Placed in front of him, was a hamburger and a plate of fries. "Thanks." He munched on them, contemplating on what he was going to do in this huge house, alone, all day.

In the end, Jou decided to explore after he was finished his snack. It was possible to get lost, but he saw this as an adventure of some sort.

Each room he entered seemed more luscious than the last he was in. Jou saw the plasma screen TV Kaiba had spoke of, and through a window that led to a very big backyard, he also say two tennis courts, and some play equipment.

Finally tired of wandering around, Jou slumped on a leather couch, and started to flip through the channels of Kaibas television. His own TV at home, was dwarfed compared to this.

Lunch was brought to him by a servant he did not know, and he spent most of his day, watching movies or shows.

"Hey Seto, I was wondering-"

Jou turned around to see Mokuba standing in the door way.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Jou had met the younger Kaiba on a few occasions, and Mokuba knew Jou as one of Yuugis friends, but they had not ever talked much.

"I am...erm...hiding out here...for...a bit."

Mokuba gave him an odd stare, "Right. So, you came here with Seto for that. Since when are you guys friends?"

"Since...a month ago?"

"Funny," said Mokuba, jumping onto the couch, "He never mentions you."

"Yea well, top secret, you know".

"Youre weird." was the reply, "Wanna play Gamecube?"

"Do I ever!" said Jou, who was now more excited than he was all day.

Jou wasted the rest of his day playing with Mokuba, and by the time he looked at his watch, it was already 5:00.

* * *

Kaiba walked up to his room, and had gotten to work immediately, but had finished around 3:00. He had taken a nap at this time, and woke up feeling refreshed. He had half forgotten the blonde was still somewhere in the house, doing god knows what. He decided he would check on the security cameras to see where he went. 

Seto was surprised to see Jou and his brother playing games in one of the living rooms. They had never talked on a regular basis, partly because of the fact that Kaiba had always hated Jou.

Hang on a sec. If Mokuba still thought that, what the hell was Jou telling him, to make him think otherwise? They were actually getting along. This made Kaiba feel uneasy, and he got up at once, to drag Jou away from his brother.

"Master Mokuba, your skills are required to fix part of the major computer mainframe."

Mokuba looked up from his place on the floor, game controller in his hand, "Right now? Can't it wait?"

The servant simply shook his head.

"I will be back in a sec Jou, don't play the game without me." said Mokuba, getting up and exiting the room.

Jou nodded and stayed where he was. A moment later, Kaiba came bursting in the room.

"It's time to go."

"Awww, I am in the middle of a game, can't you see? I am all good man, go back to work."

Kaiba glared at the blonde, "No, we are leaving now."

Jou got up, seeing as Kaiba was in a bad mood. "Fine fine, we can go now."

Soon, Jou found himself in Kaiba's car again, driving the route back to his house. It had been a decent day, doing nothing, but it was better than going fishing.

"Are you working tomorrow?"

Kaiba kept his eyes on the road, but stiffed a "no."

"Maybe–"

"No Jou, I am not spending more time with you. It is bad enough you blackmailed me into fucking having you hanging around at my house all day. I have tomorrow off, and I am doing something alone."

"What the fuck Seto, I wasn't going to suggest anything. I was going to say 'maybe if you get enough locator cards, next time a you have a day off, you can sleep in'. But whatever."

"Sorry, I– "

Jou lost it at this point. He was sick of being nice to Kaiba, only to have him be a jerk back. "No, I am sick of your 'I am sorry for being a jerk.' Instead of apologizing all the time, why don't you just STOP being a jerk."

"I am not a jerk, you are just annoying as hell."

"No, you have always been a jerk Seto. Sometimes you are less of a jerk, but you are usually a jerk. And I thought you had changed, but I guess I was wrong. Now stop the fucking car, I want out."

"Jou, you are twelve blocks away from your house, I am not– "

"I said stop the fucking car!"

Kaiba had no choice but to listen. He did not want to make Jou his prisoner. He watched the blonde get out and slam the door behind him.

"Don't slam my fucking door, it's worth more than your life." It was a comeback he had used before, but the moment he said it, he wished he hadn't. At first, he thought Jou was going to hit him, but he walked away.

Kaiba stepped on the gas, and trailed the blonde beside the sidewalk. Before he even had a chance to speak, Jou turned to face him.

"Don't even begin to tell me you are sorry. Or maybe I should be the old apologizing Seto. Sorry I don't live in a huge mansion, with a tennis court in my back yard, and sorry I can't go on trips with you to the country club. But you know what? Maybe all that shit makes you the asshole you are. So, I am glad I have none of it."

Kaiba got out of his car and caught up to the blonde, now walking at a fast pace.

"No, you know, things weren't always easy for me Jou. I had to work for what I have now."

"And I bet you are glad to have all of it."

Seto grabbed Jou's shoulder and swung him around, "No! You don't get it! There are things you know nothing about! You once told me you never make assumptions about other people, because you know how hard things can be. But you are doing the same thing to me now!"

Jou looked up to meet Kaiba's eyes. He could see no trace of a lie in them, and yet, he couldn't even begin to guess what could possibly be so bad in the life of a billionaire. He dropped his gaze to the coffee shoppe he and Kaiba had frequented the day before.

"Want a coffee?"

Seto looked at the blonde, to see if he was just joking, and being an idiot. But he doubted he wasn't being serious.

"Yea Jou, I'd like that."

The twosome made their way across the street, saying nothing to each other, but thinking much.

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A/N: Of, I had some sort of problem with my' and these "" and this - . So, these ' would just dissappear. These "" would turn into A. And this - would turn into B. It happened for a portion of the story when I uploaded it, I do not know WHY, but if you see any of that, it it totally not my fault. I fixed it as best I could, but I might have left some in the story. -bows- Don't blame me! So, reviews, tell me what you think about this first chapter, what you would like to see happen, what you think will happen, etc. My loyal fans, I love you oh so much. Anyways. Done now. Adieu!


	2. Questions

**Wow, I think this sets the record for fastest second chapter put up by Rioku Avalon. :D What can I say, I have alot of time on my hands.**

**Anywho, I am playing with a few different plots. So, no asking questions, you will just have to wait and see:P**

**Pay attention to the thoughts of both the boys, and you might just notice that they think similar things of each other. Future couple? Definatly.**

**So, leave a review on your thoughts, and enjoy the chapter!**

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Chapter 2

As it turned out, Seto did manage to go out the next day for a few rounds of Duel Monsters. He acquired three locator cards, and was satiated enough to stop from there. He also had a rather enjoyable night with Jou, going out for coffee. They got to spend more time then usual together. What, with no work for Kaiba, and the sparsely populated café, the atmosphere was just perfect for lengthy conversations.

But come Monday, Kaiba was again, thrown into his regular routine of doing a hell of a lot of work, and going home late. Mokuba didn't mention much about Jou, except for the fact that he was quite good at video games. This eased Kaiba's nerves a bit, but questions that he thought he had answered, were again popping up in his head.

For instance, his very small, almost not there, slight attraction to Jou. Firstly, Kaiba had never really been attracted to anyone in his life. Well, the passing girl he might have thought was attractive, but it was not like he acted on any of that. He was just too busy to worry about relationships, with lovers or friends. Secondly, an attraction to another guy means that Kaiba was at least bisexual. And what kind of people would buy products from someone they thought was gay? Not a good business strategy at all. Thirdly, what the hell were people going to say about Jounouchi Katsuya and Kaiba Seto, sworn enemies, together? He couldn't begin to guess, and frankly he didn't want to.

He was startled out of his train of thought by Melanie.

"Hey Seto, I was checking these user lists, and seven people have dropped out of the tournament. They haven't really been kicked out, they just resigned."

Kaiba took the folder from her, and sure enough, she was right. Seven people put their names in and returned their duel disks. "Maybe the tournament was harder than they thought."

Melanie frowned, "See, that's what I thought, but I checked the database, and we only have eleven duelists that have five stars. Two of those being yourself and Yuugi, and the remaining nine only have up to five cards each, at the most."

This was odd. Why would people drop out of a tournament that promised so much? The toughest duelists at the most, usually didn't pick on the weaker ones. That wasn't a challenge at all. "I'll look over this when I have the time I suppose. That is all I can really do."

"Alright," Melanie nodded. She left the room, but paused at the door, "Oh, and Seto? Lover boy is here to see you."

Seto's head shot up, giving him a rather bad pain in the neck. Lover boy? Dear god, where did THAT come from. He saw Melanie leave the room with a smile on her face, and seconds later Jou walked in. He was gazing around, a rather bored expression on his face.

"What are you doing here?"

Jou looked startled that Kaiba would ask him such an aggressive question. "Um, I came to visit? Like I sometimes do after school?"

"Well…you can't just, walk up here in front of everyone you know!"

Jou was now gaping at Seto, trying to understand what the CEO was getting at. "Dude, don't I do that EVERY time I come here. And don't I come here a lot?"  
"Well…stop coming here so much then!" Kaiba's face was red, either with embarrassment or agitation.

"Wait, who the hell is everyone? Melanie? She doesn't care who comes into your office rich boy, she never has!"

Kaiba didn't even know what he was trying to get at, but whatever it was, it certainly was not working.

"Is something wrong Seto?"

Kaiba thought about it. Why had he gotten so mad at Melanie when she was probably just joking? He was making assumptions that she knew more than he thought she did. But that was wrong, and anyways, He and Jou _were _just friends. "No, nothing is wrong."

"Alright, whatever." The blonde slumped himself down on a couch that was on the other side of the room. Seto hid a grin. That useless dog probably thought his office was as much of a home as his own.

"I'm bored."

"Why don't you do something useful?"

"Then give me something useful to do. I can't very well just barge into your office and get to work."

Seto threw a pile of papers at him. "Sort though these, and then put them in file folders."

"I hate filing."

"Then get the hell out."

Jou rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll file. But for the record, isn't this Melanie's job?"

"She already has a bunch of shit to do already. You could at least help her."

Sighing, Jou grabbed the pile of papers that were on the floor, and began to put them into piles. "So, since I am going to be bored for the next thirty minutes, we might as well talk about something."

"And what would you like to talk about today Mutt?"

"Hey, don't call me that, and I don't know. You know, you need a hobby Seto, because then we could talk about your great hobby, instead of sitting here, and arguing about what we are going to talk about."

"I do have a hobby, it is called work."

"No, I mean, like a fun hobby."

"I do have a fun hobby, it is called dueling."

"I give up. Get any locator cards lately?"

"Three."

"I got two yesterday."

"So that puts you up to…"

"Six."

"Only two more."

"Yup."

"Well, it has been nice talking to you Mutt, but I have to work. Good day."

Jou gave Kaiba a sarcastic glance. "Ha-ha, funny moneybags, real funny."

"You are getting annoying again."

Jou placed a large stack of papers into one pile, "Hey, let's play a game."

"Hey, let's not."

Jou thought for a moment, "Play the question game."

"And I suppose now, you want me to ask you what the fuck the 'Question Game' is?"

"No, because I am going to tell you anyways, so, just shut your hole."

"Don't tell me to shut my hole in MY office."

"Now you're being annoying."

"I-"

"ANYWAYS, so, we get to ask each other questions. But they have to be yes or no questions, and the first person that is unable to answer a question first, loses."

"Wow, how fun. Gee Jou, can I go first."

"Fine," said Jou, in a rather flat tone. Clearly, Kaiba had no imagination whatsoever, which made Jou wonder how he could possibly create such unique tournaments.

"Are you always annoying?"

"No, are you always a jerk?"

"Yes."

There was a moment where nothing was said. "It is your turn now you know," said Jou, placing more papers into files.

Kaiba thought for a moment, "Ever done drugs?"

"Yes, have you?

"No. Do you have any pets?"

"A cat. What's your favourite colour?"

"Blue. Play any sports?"

"Soccer, you?"

"Tennis. Ever want to travel?"

"I want to go to Europe. Ever had a girlfriend?"

"No, have you?"

"Not yet. Do you still go to school?"

"I am passing every class with honors. Are you still dumb in school?"

"…No, I am not. Do you ever say anything nice about people?"

"Sometimes. Do you ever shower?"

"Everyday. Were you born arrogant?"

"No, I learned it. Ever fucked Anzu?"

"No, you sadistic prick. Do you care about anyone but yourself?"

"Yes, are you smarter than you look?"

"Yes, do you have anyone willing to be your friend?"

"No, do you have a secret crush on Honda?"

"No, do you have a secret crush on me?"

"…" What a stupid question. And yet, Kaiba could not answer it right away.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a loser, Mr. Kaiba Seto."

"The answer to that question is no, and I was wondering why you would ask such a farfetched question in the first place."

"Sure buddy."

"I don't want to play this fucking game anymore. You just annoy me, all the time."

"Well, you know how I feel then, when you are constantly being an ass."

"I am never an ass to you."

"You are always an ass to me! Everyday you remind me how insignificant my life is compared to yours."

Kaiba looked up from his desk. "No I don't…"

Jou got up from where he was sitting and threw his hand in the air in frustration. "Yes you do! If I am not really dumb, I am really slow. If I'm not really slow, I'm really ugly. If I am not really ugly, I am really annoying. I don't know if you just hate saying nice things about people, or if you just don't understand how to be nice, but I hate spending freekin' time with you when you do that!"

Guilt trip. "I don't mean to do it…"

"No, I suppose asshole-ism comes naturally to you, you were born with that disease, and you can't help it."

"Well Jou! Every time I want to do something on my own, you have to tag along, or every time I want to work, you have to talk. It is like I can't do anything on my own."

"You're kidding right? You have spent your whole LIFE doing things alone. I think you are just not used to sharing your time with other people!"

"What makes you think I want to spend my time with other people?"

"Why are you so afraid of getting close with anyone?"

"I'm not…"

Jou tried, but he still could not understand any of Kaiba's reasoning. It wasn't like when they both went out, they had a rotten time together. So what the fuck was in Kaiba's head?

"Are you afraid?"

Kaiba leapt out of his chair, and was practically tearing out his hair, "Why do you ask suck stupid questions!"

"Because I am lost for what the fuck goes on in your head! I don't get why you are such a jerk to people who only want to be nice to you!"

"Why do you want to be nice to me Jou! Why do you care so much!"

"I just want to be your friend Kaiba, that's all. I don't mind spending time with you or anything, and I think you could use the company."

"Ugh…but what the hell do I have to offer you to make you want to spend time with me?"

"Is that what this is about? You can't see the good in yourself, so you don't think others can see anything?"

Kaiba sighed, "No, that's not what this is about. I am not used to talking to people unless I am giving them orders. I am not used to hanging out with other people unless we are working. I don't know if you expect me to just jump into this like I know what I am doing, because I don't."

Jou shook his head, "I am not here to judge you, or ridicule you, or surprisingly enough, annoy you."

"Then why are you here?"

"Seto, and you call me the dumb one, is it too much to ask to spend some time with you?"

Seto didn't want to offend Jou at this point. "But…why?"

Jou sat back down onto the couch with his arms crossed. "Because I can. Now will you please stop yelling at me?"

Seto gave up and returned to his desk. He was now out of energy to do anything, even work. "For the record, I don't mean to be an…ass…intentionally to you, you know?"

Jou shrugged, "I know when you are joking most of the time, but sometimes I have no idea what you are trying to get at, and then you come off as a jerk. You REALLY need to relax. Your company won't fall and crumble if you take a vacation."

Kaiba rested his head in his hands, "And just where exactly am I supposed to go?"

"I don't know, away," said Jou, pondering on the possible vacation destinations that would be suitable for Seto.

Just then, the door opened, and Melanie popped her head in. "Would you two kindly shut the fuck up? I am trying to work. Thanks." She slammed the door rather hard and returned to her desk.

Seto ran his hands through his hair a few times to relax himself, and got back to work. Maybe Jou was right. He almost never took time off, and he was always stressed about some goings on at work. Maybe he did need a vacation? "Are you done with that yet?"

Jou kept his gaze to the floor. He was playing with a chunk of his hair, wrapping it around his slender fingers. "Yea, I am done. What do you want me to do with them?"

"I'll give them to Mel, and she can run them for me, it is ok."

"No, I can do it now, where do they need to go?"

"Can you take them to Deidra, so she can enter them into the computer?"

Deidra was Jou's crush at Kaiba Corp. Every time Kaiba would send him on a mission to give her something, Jou would jump at the chance to go, and swoon over her.

Jou snatched the papers out of Kaiba's hand, and made for the door. Just what he needed after a scrap with Kaiba Jerkface, a visit to Deidra.

He passed Melanie at her desk, who usually stopped to talk to him, but kept her head down. She was probably agitated about all the yelling going down in Kaiba's office. Jou pondered on how much she probably heard when they were yelling. Whatever, he didn't really care anyways, and neither should Kaiba. But Kaiba also had this huge issue about what other people thought about him, and he really needed to get over that. Jou didn't usually care, but he could admit to the fact that some cases were different.

He had walked down the flights of stairs faster than he thought, and now found himself outside Deidra's floor. He didn't bother to knock, but walked unto the floor. Deidra's office was to his right, and the rest of the floor was covered with cubicles or other small offices.

Jou walked up to her door and knocked. He heard a muffled 'come in,' and walked into the office to find Deidra seated at her desk.

Fuck, she was hot. Her blonde hair was straight today, and she was hunched over some notes she was copying down, in a very sexy manner.

She looked up and saw Jou. "Jounouchi, how nice to see you again. You almost never come to visit." Her blue eyes were outlined with dark eyeliner, or it looked like so. Her black rimmed glasses gave off a shine from the light fixture above her head, making it hard to tell.

"I was told to give you these." He thrust the stack of papers at her.

Deidra flipped through them, and nodded. Jou just stood at her door, and stared at her.

"Thank-you so much, would you like to stay for a drink, maybe catch up?"

How could he say no to that? Actually, quite easily, he just had to imagine what Kaiba would do if he thought that there was a 'thing' going on between him and Deidra. But then again, nothing ever happened from a friendly visit and a drink. What a lie, EVERYTHING happened when you drank too much. Just thinking about it brought back thoughts of him and Seto…

"Uh, yes, sure, I would like that," said Jou, taking a seat at her desk. Deidra merely smiled, and poured him some brandy.

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Kaiba has assumed that Jou left after delivering those files. He had not seen the blonde in two hours. Melanie had already gone home, and he was just packing up his laptop. He figured he would go home early, and spend some time with his brother.

Seto walked out of his office, locking it, and pushed the button for the elevator. When it arrived, he stepped in it, only to see Jou there.

"What the hell…? Jou, what are you doing here?"

"I finished delivering those files Rich Boy, I am on my way home!"

"Then why are you riding this to the top?"

Jou thought about this for a moment, "Um, I need a ride."

Kaiba rolled his eyes but said nothing. Though his office building was closer to Jou's school, it was by no means close to his home. He had no choice but to give the mutt a ride.

"Fine, but where were you all this time?"

"I was talking to Dei. She's nice."

Seto did not ask questions. From the dreamy look on the blonde's face, he didn't have to. He wouldn't exactly call his Head of Marketing a whore, but she had the ability to persuade people, something that came in handy trying to sell products.

They rode the elevator down, and walked to the parking lot together. The sun had not set yet, but it could not be seen around the valley of tall skyscrapers. The twosome got into Kaiba's car, and made their way through downtown Domino.

"How many people to you have employed there anyways?"

This question was oddly out of the ordinary, but Kaiba answered it nonetheless. "Somewhere between 75-100. I am always hiring people, and firing people. Why Mutt? Looking for a job? You should get housetrained before thinking such a thing."

Jou simply glared at Kaiba, but said nothing at first. His mind was still in Dei's office, drinking small amounts of Brandy, and chatting like old friends. His attraction to her was obvious. In fact, she had asked him to go out for dinner the upcoming Thursday, and Jou eagerly said yes.

"Why?"

Jou looked over at Kaiba; "Why what?"

"Why did you want to know how many people I employed?"

"Oh, just a random thought I suppose?"

"Did you have fun today in her office?"

"Ugh…" What the hell? Jou didn't even TELL Kaiba anything about that. He was either joking, or this situation happened a lot. "Yea, I suppose we did. Going out to dinner on Thursday."

Kaiba didn't say anything at first. But there was a little dark monster in him now, and he didn't know if he wanted to yell at Jou for being so stupid, shake him to his senses, smother him, or tear his throat out.

"That's ok, right?"

Was it? She was one of Kaiba's best co-workers, and if Jou was going to fuck things up for him, that wouldn't be allowed.

"Just don't fuck things up."

"Alright." They had arrived at the block in which Jou's apartment building was. "Thanks for the ride moneybags. I'll stop by again this week."

"Right." Kaiba watched Jou walk around a corner and disappear. There was a tingling feeling in the pit of his stomach. He would just have to ignore it. He had finally got out of work early, and he wanted to go home and spend time with his brother.

He put his car in drive, and pulled away from the shadows of the buildings.


	3. Shouting at the Shoppe

**An update to this story, and So Far Away, within a day of each other! If you guys haven't checked out my other story, I would advise it, it is filled with angsty goodness.**

**So, Jou is pretty good dealing with Kaiba's violets mood swings eh? He should get some pills for that :S I don't have much to say, but expect more emotion in the next chapter. Good or bad, it is going to come.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 3 **

Kaiba didn't see much of Jou that week. He spent less time in the office, often accomplishing more work than he thought he would. But he began to grow lonely again, and often wondered how he had survived without friends in the first place. Ok, that was a lie, but some part of him knew he missed Jou. So, needless to say, when the blonde walked in on a Friday afternoon, he was pleasantly surprised.

And Jou was as surprised as Kaiba was, for the CEO was sitting at his desk reading a newspaper, not hunched over his laptop as usual.

"Hard day of doing nothing?"

Kaiba looked up from where he sat, "I fished, if you would like to know, and now I am taking a well deserved break. Where have you been?"

"Man, I was busy. I had a bunch of school work to catch up on, I hung out with the gang on Wednesday, and I went out with Deidra on Thursday."

Kaiba grunted at this, "How did that go?"

Oblivious to the fact that this subject was a tad touchy for Seto, Jou began a run-through on what they did, what they ate, what they talked about etc. Seto was only half paying attention, still wondering why this bothered him so.

"So, anyways, we are going out tomorrow night to some bar downtown. It's supposed to be really classy."

"Which one is it?"

"The Red Dragon."

"Drinks there are expensive. You better have money, especially if you are paying for two."

Money, Jou never had any of that. He was used to Kaiba paying for anything, only because moneybags could spare it. He was still looking for a job.

"That reminds me, I still need to look for a job."

"By tomorrow? Good luck with that one."

"Hey Seto, would you lend me…"

"No, I won't. I am not a charity, I don't give money out."

Jou was desperate, "c'mon, I'll pay you back!"

Seto wasn't going to contribute to Jou's affair with Deidra. He didn't want a part of it, so he would stand his ground on this one. "I said no, don't ask me again."

Jou moped quietly, but said nothing. He would find a way to pay.

"Do you have anything to do?"

"Not really, just a bit."

"Want to go for coffee?"

"Can I meet you there? So I have time check my stocks?"

Jou nodded, "Yea, I'll go there now and reserve a seat."

Seto watched the blonde head out the door, and began to work.

Jou walked to the Shoppe, a five minute stroll in which nothing out of the ordinary happened. He sat down at the usual table, and got the usual drink. Things were alright now. He had an amazing time with Dei, walking through the park, eating at a vendor. They had more in common than he had first thought. Her parents had split up when she was younger, and she had an older brother that lived on the other side of the city. Though there was a two year difference between the two, it was hardly noticeable.

"Hey Jou!"

Jou looked up to see Yuugi jogging over to his table, a cup of some hot liquid in his hand. He was followed by Anzu and Honda, with Bakura trailing behind.

"If I knew you were going to be here alone, I would have come earlier! How's it been?"

"Um…alright I suppose." This was NOT good. Any minute Kaiba would walk through that door, to find him with four other people. To his horror, the gang sat down at his table and began to talk. He joined in the conversation, looking at the door every now and again. Sure enough, ten minutes later, the brunette walked in.

Jou kept looking at him, trying to get his attention, but Seto was absorbed with something on his cell phone. He was walking straight towards their table, with not a clue.

"Kaiba! Fancy seeing you here."

Seto stopped in his tracks at the sound of Yuugi's voice. He looked up, and saw all of them, including Jou, sitting at the table.

"We would invite you to sit with us, but we might like, ruin your reputation or something." It was Honda who said this. Bakura laughed, and Anzu hid a giggle. Was Jou supposed to laugh at him as well? Make some rude comment about him? Shit, this had never occurred before this moment, and Jou was lost for what to do. He gave a meek look at Seto.

"Honda, that's not nice, you can sit with us if you want Kaiba," Said Yuugi.

"I'd rather drop dead thanks."

"It wouldn't bother us, really, go ahead. It would save you the humiliation from loosing your own tournament again."

"Shut up Honda, you stupid boy. I don't need snide comments, especially from someone who can hardly handle his low grade courses. Get a job you useless bum."

Honda got up from where he was sitting, "Big talk coming from someone who was given everything from his father. Tell me, what he as stuck up as you are?"

This was really making Jou uncomfortable, he had to do something. "Honda, I don't think-"

"That's right, tell him Jou. He is always putting you down. Figures you'd come in here ALONE Kaiba."

"I don't need the Mutt to tell me anything, and I don't need you calling me pathetic names to boost your own self-esteem."

"Hey Seto…" Jou started, but he was cut off.

"Save it Dog Boy. Chat it up with your fucking friends, I can see why you go on about them so much; clearly they are worth your time."

Jou stood up at this point, "Hey, don't have a go at my friends, and I didn't even say anything, so don't have a go at me too."

"Whatever, you aren't even worth my time." Seto roughly shoved his cell phone in his pocket and turned around.

"Don't even give me that!" Jou chased after him, but the collar of his shirt was grabbed by the CEO.

"I don't need a puppy to follow me around, now get out of my face." He threw the blonde rather roughly against a wall and left.

Jou walked back to his table, dumbstruck. Was it an act? Or was Seto being serious?

"I told you that guy was bad news," said Anzu.

"Tell me about it, I am surprised his ego can fit through the door, it is so big," chipped in Honda.

This was already getting to Jou; he didn't need his friends bashing, well, his other friend, as he would put it.

"I am telling you, the next time…" at this, Honda made a fist, and gave some swipes in the air.

"You know, he didn't even say anything to you." Jou had turned around and was now talking rather loudly to Honda, "You just started shit and what do you think would happen? He would turn around and leave?"

Honda gapped at him, "Since when have you stood up for Rich Boy? FYI, you have always hated the kid. Did you have a divine apparition that said 'Be nice to jerks from now on?'?"

Yuugi spoke up this time, "Jou does have a point Honda. Kaiba wasn't even doing anything."

"You too now? Has everyone gone nuts?"

"I have never hated Kaiba, you know that Honda. I haven't always approved of everything he has done, but he has never given me a reason to dislike him," said Yuugi.

"Whatever, you guys are fucked up."

That was the end of the conversation, but not the end of the tension. They finished their drinks and headed out.

Jou didn't know if he should find Kaiba, and ask what the hell was going on, or just head home. In the end, he figured since it was only seven, he would head over to Kaiba's house. He just had to remember where he lived…

"Seto, what's-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Seto came home in a bad mood, and he didn't feel like spilling his problems to his brother.

"Ok?" Mokuba, clearly confused, didn't push the matter further. He just gave his brother some space.

Seto had been mildly looking forward to some catch up time with Jou. Now he was livid with the fact that he had been attacked out of no where, by that buffoon Honda. And Jou had done nothing about it, he just sat there, too meek to speak up for anything. But Seto wasn't really too mad at Jou, he didn't really blame him. He was just angry the whole scenario happened in the first place.

Seto walked up to his room, and had barely begun to change when…

"Master Kaiba, there is someone to see you."

Seto looked up to see a servant at his door.

"I don't really want to talk to anyone right now. Can you send them home?"

"Very well sir."

Kaiba flopped down on his king size bed. He just wanted to sleep. Another knock at the door, and the same servant appeared.

"I thought I told you I wasn't going to see him? Get rid of him!"

"He is quite persistent…"

"I don't care! I don't WANT to TALK to ANYONE!" at this point, he leapt up from the bed, and shut the door in the poor servants face. He did not, however, feel guilty at all, for he was in a bad mood to begin with, and he thought he had made it clear he didn't want to chat with anyone. He fell into his bed again.

He heard the door open a third time, and turned around roughly, hurting his neck, but ready to fire that servant. But to his surprise, it was Jou standing at the door. He looked at him for a moment, and buried his head in a pillow. "Go away."

"I just wanted to talk…"

Seto could feel a twitch in his eye now. This was the fourth time he had said to someone he didn't want to talk. "I do…not want….to talk….right now…" He said thought gritted teeth.

"Whatever," and to his surprise, Jou came and sat on the bed. A few moments went by where he didn't say anything.

Seto sighed and looked up from his pillow, "What did you want to talk about?"

"Just apologize for my stupid friends. And stupid they are."

"Why don't you get your stupid friends to apologize then?"

"Like they would."

"They should."

Jou sighed, "I am sure you would apologize if it was you Seto…"

"I wouldn't have said that in the first place! The only person I ever laughed at was you if you don't remember. I just told your friends to shut their faces when they interfered!"

"Well, if it makes any difference, I am still sorry it happened. Don't think I didn't want to do anything about it."

Seto took a long look at Jou, "Then why didn't you?"

"I…it was just…if they thought…"

"Oh, I see. If they thought we were friends, or something along those lines, they would never talk to you again. Is that how it is? Well, they seem like a great bunch of people to hang out with."

"Ugh, it isn't like that," Jou growled, "you just wouldn't get it."

"Why, because I have never had friends?"

"Stop putting words in my mouth!"

"Whatever, aren't I used to people not liking me in general?"

Jou smiled and gave a laugh, assuming this was funny, "Hey, I like you remember?"

"How comforting."

The sat for a moment, saying nothing.

"Your bed is pretty comfy eh?"

"Now that you mention that, get the hell off my bed."

"No, I like it, I think I'll stay."

Kaiba gave Jou a shove, but the blonde simply flopped over. "I give up."

The two boys lay there for awhile. Seto didn't know if Jou was sleeping or just in thought. The blonde spoke, so it was the later of the two.  
"You know, I can almost get why you think friends are so stupid. Today, I got a dose of that. Don't get me wrong, if things were still the same between us, I would have joined in with Honda, but I am glad they are not the same, because now I can see how much of a jerk I was to you as well. Anyways, I am done now, just wanted to get that out."

Seto looked up to see the blonde a deep shade of red.

"Nothing has changed for me; I still think you are an idiot."

"Can't you ever say anything nice about me?"

Seto thought for a moment, "Yea, but I won't."

Jou threw a pillow at him, missing his head by a long shot.

"C'mon, I'll take you home. Let me grab my stuff and meet me out front."

Jou grinned, "Sweet thanks Rich Boy."

"No problem Mutt." He watched the blonde bound out of the room.

They met at the driveway, and got into Seto's car. Kaiba now knew where Jou lived, enough so he wasn't lost. When they came to his apartment building, they had a brief five minute chat, and Jou headed out of the car.

"Jou! Hang on!"

Kaiba had rolled down his window, and Jou turned around to see him waving something in the air. He approached the car with a puzzled look. Seto handed an envelope to Jou.

"Here, take this. Take Deidra out and have a good time ok?"

He opened the envelope to see the writing of the handsome CEO on a check.

Before Jou could protest, Kaiba was gone in a trail of smoke, leaving the blonde coughing in the middle of the street.

Kaiba got home and went to his room for the second time tonight. He knew that giving Jou that money was pretty much damning him to hear about their relationship the following day. He also felt enormously stupid. Why was he such a nice guy? Who knows…but it really should stop before his pockets were empty. The blonde just had a way of making him feel guilty for doing nothing.

If anything, Kaiba was the dog in their relationship


	4. Jealous?

**Heh, I was alright in getting this done. Actually I couldn't sleep, and my brain wandered to the possibilities I could do with this chapter. That is why, at 2 in the morning, I am putting this in :3**

**Anyways, I don't have much to add. This chapter speaks for itself. And I am tired anyways. Tootles!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Jealousy. The word hit Seto like a brick. Was he jealous? No, stupid, not jealous, Kaiba Seto was never jealous. He had everything. The car, the house, the business, the looks for god sakes. He could never be jealous of some lower class blonde mutt, who not only was worse than him at dueling, but had an attitude that didn't quite fit his ego.

Then why was Seto home, on a Saturday night, thinking about what the blonde was doing now. Was he kissing her? Was he doing more than kissing her? Were they dating now? They wouldn't even be going OUT if it wasn't for him. HE was the one who (stupidly) gave the Mutt the money to go out.

Why had he done that? Maybe some part of him wanted Jou to think, "Awe Seto, you are such a sweet, dashing young man. Why don't we spend the money together…?" Yea right, like THAT would ever happen. And anyways, that thought only stayed in his head for about ten seconds.

Well, if he wasn't jealous, what was he? Maybe he was protective of the only other person he was close with? Well, not really close, just, friends with. But the blonde haired teen could look after himself, he could go on dates with whoever he wanted, and he could certainly decide how he wanted to spend his life.

Thing is, Seto knew as soon as he mentioned that dating office personnel was not such a good idea, he knew the blonde would tell him he was just jealous. Whether he meant it or not wasn't the point, the point was, Kaiba Seto was not jealous.

"You know, if you aren't doing work, you might as well get into a chair that is actually comfortable."

Seto jumped at the sound of his brother's voice, jarring his thoughts. Mokuba walked in the room, eating some sort of snack food. He sat on the other side of the desk, and stared at his brother.

"What makes you so jumpy?"

"You startled me, I was thinking…"

Mokuba nodded, "About what?"

"I don't…I don't really know. I was just…going over some things that have been on my mind."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No, there is nothing to really talk about."

Mokuba didn't say anything, but reached inside his chip bag, then shoveling the food into his mouth. He looked around his brother's office, a bored expression pasted on his face. Seto should really spend more time with his brother. If he grew up without him, they would only get more distant in the future.

"Hey squirt, want to go out with me tonight?"

"You actually want to go out and do something…entertaining? Man, are you sure you aren't ill?"

"What do you mean?" Mokuba had never used such sarcasm with his brother.

"Seto, the last place you took me, was like, a petting zoo, three years ago. Why do you want to go out now?"

Did Seto really forget his own brother? It was like him, too into his work to care about anything but himself. But no, he DID care for his brother, more than anything. If he knew Mokuba were so unhappy…

"Do I need a reason to spend time with my own brother?" He asked Mokuba.

"No, not really and to tell you the truth, I would love to go out tonight. I am doing nothing better anyways."

"Oh, is that how it works these days?"

"Pretty much. Let's go catch a movie; there is one I have wanted to see…"

Seto nodded, "Alright, go get ready, we'll go out."

Mokuba bounded out of the room, with zeal Seto hadn't seen in a long time.

* * *

They actually had quite a good time. It was like when Seto and Mokuba had first gotten control of Kaiba Corp. They spent every waking moment, planning their futures, having fun, just acting like kids. But as Seto grew older, the business needed him more than he wished, so he was whisked off to the other world, where he either had to become a man and face economy, or simply fade out. He had made a decision, but it came with a price, which was, long hours spent in the office, less time seeing his brother…and, well…let's just say his temper worsened.

So when Seto was sitting on a park bench with his brother, consuming ice cream after seeing a movie, he was satiated enough to sit back and relax, just enjoying the company.

Mokuba was chatting about what he did this week, how school was going, and problems with his friends. Seto was just inclined to listen, and put his two cents in where needed.

They had ended up late for the movie, having to see the late show, due to a duelist changeling Seto for his locator cards. Mokuba insisted that he would much rather watch his older brother crush some unsuspecting victim, than see a movie any day. So, that is exactly that happened, and Seto now had more locator cards in his pocket. Of course, Mokuba was ecstatic. He hadn't been able to watch his brother duel since the last Battle City, which was a year ago.

"Seto, did you see the way he played that magic card? And you annihilated him! He never stood a chance!"

So, the night was a complete success. Seto did the two things he enjoyed most, spending time with his brother and dueling.

"Hey Seto, isn't that Jou?"

Seto looked up to see the blonde emerging from a gift shop across the street. He knew the Red Dragon was close to the theatre, and secretly he had hopped to catch a glimpse of the blonde. Why? Erm…that was for Seto to know.

Jou looked like he was having a good time. He was laughing at god only knows what, with Deidra hanging off his arm like a leech. She was doing the thing with her hair, you know, flipping it back, showing just the right amount of neck and shoulder to drive anyone wild. Actually, even Kaiba had to admit, she looked good tonight. With her small white summer dress, which stopped just above the knee, giving anyone that looked, a great view of her legs.

And wasn't Jou the lucky one to be seen with such a creature. You could see it on his face, he was beaming. It was almost cute, a blonde couple walking downtown on a warm spring night, arm in arm, and Kaiba would have cooed an 'aww' if he didn't feel like retching into the flower pot next to him. He turned around again.

"Must be, I suppose."

"Want to go say hi?" Mokuba was now sitting backward on his knees, facing the shop.

"No, why would I?"

Mokuba shrugged, "I thought you guys were friends, that's all. You know," he bit into his ice cream, "you should invite him over again, he is a killer at video games."

"Maybe later, we should go home now anyways."

Mokuba jumped off the bench, and the CEO stole a last look at the blonde, before walking in the direction of his car.

* * *

Monday dawned with rain, which suited Kaiba well, for the whether reflected his mood at the moment. He hadn't slept well, if at all, and he had to finish his online homework before he started his actual work. On top of that, he needed to hand in an English paper to his teacher, who wouldn't accept it in an e-mail. Translated, that meant time spent in loser-ville aka school.

Good news, by three, the rain had stopped, and Seto had finished everything he set out to do. It was still cloudy however, with no trace of the sun. He thought about traveling to school and handing in his paper, but decided to retire early and do it tomorrow.

"Leaving so soon boss?" Melanie looked up from her usual pile of papers. She looked tired, there were bags under her eyes, and her hair wasn't done up today.

"You look terrible."

"Gee, it is always nice to know I can count on you to insult me on your way out the door."

"What's wrong?" Melanie was usually never under the weather, and always made an attempt to look decent for work.

"Look, do you see this?" She pointed to a stack of papers, "This is the stupid fucking member's sheet you make me do EVERY day. On top of that, I still have those logs you dropped on my desk a week ago, and I have only just started putting all of this into the Data Base. I got into a fight with Mark last night, and I don't get paid enough to work here. So, don't you be giving me shit about looking bad Seto, I don't need it."

Seto was dumbstruck for a second, having little experience with Melanie's bad temper, "Uhh, want to talk about it?"

"Yes, I am sure you are the one I can talk to about my relationship problems Dr. Phil. No, just leave me alone."

"Go home then."

She looked up from what she was doing, "What?"

Seto shrugged, "I said go home. I'll finish all your work; I am done everything I need to do."

Melanie thought about it for a moment, "No, I need the money, it is Mark's birthday, I still need to buy him something, and I need to pay my rent-"

"I'll still pay you, you need a break, go ahead, take it."

After giving Seto a long stare, she slowly got up from her desk. Melanie walked over to Seto and put her hand on his forehead, "Are you feeling ok?"

He pushed her hand down, "I am fine, stop that. Now, if you're not leaving, I am. So, what will it be?"

In no time at all, Melanie had grabbed her coat, and was rushing past the CEO. She stopped, gave Seto a hug, mumbled thanks, and was out the door.

Seto sighed, and sat down at her desk.

* * *

Melanie was rushing out of the elevator, pulling her coat on.

"Leaving early?" asked Ashi, the receptionist at the front desk.

"Yea, I have a lot of crap I need to do at home," Melanie huffed, walking rather quickly down the marbled hallway. She finished putting her jacket on, and was checking her cell phone, when she collided with someone walking in the building.

"God Mel, I am so sorry."

Melanie looked up from her spot on the ground to see a boy with blonde hair giving her his hand. "It is ok Jou, I really wasn't paying attention." She was helped to her feet.

"Is Seto still here?"

"He has a lot of work to do in his office...err…my office. But I suppose he could use some company. Anyways, I have to go now; I will talk to you later." She made her way out the door without waiting for an answer.

* * *

Jou rode the elevator up, and got out to see Seto sitting at Melanie's desk, concentrating hard on a paper of some sort.

"I just ran into Melanie, literally, she seemed sort of flustered."

Kaiba was startled out of his trace, and saw the blonde standing in front of him.

"Uhh, yea, she had some troubles with her boyfriend so I let her go early. I think he gets off work about this time, so she was probably going home to meet up with him."

"Ah, I see. How was your weekend?"

"Alright, caught a movie with Mokuba on Saturday."

"Which one?"

"The Lake House."

"Any good?"

"I didn't mind it. I am not all into chick flicks really, seemed like a chick flick to me." Should Seto ask him? Do he dare find out? Yes, he had to know… "How was your weekend?"

"Fantastic. I had the best time on Saturday. Oh, and thanks man for the money! I didn't use all of it; I'll give the other stuff back when I can. Anyways, we ended up meeting at the park, because you know, I don't drive, and I thought it was kind of weird to have her driving me around. So, from the park we went to the Red Dragon, snazzy place man, really cool. We had a few drinks there and…"

In Seto's head, Jou's voice was a like an answering machine, just droning on about things he didn't care to hear. Every now and then, he would nod at something the blonde said, but usually, just kept his eyes glued to the papers on Mel's desk.

"…And yea, that was pretty much my night. I think we are going to plan something this week."

Already irked, Seto asked, "And since when have you been so interested in relationships with females?"

Was this a real question? "Um, since a pretty decent looking one happened to suggest we look into things? C'mon man, I never get chicks, and when I do, it is nothing I am interested in." He looked hard at Kaiba, "Seto, you're not…jealous are you?"

There was that fucking word again. "No?" His voice was shaky, "Why would I be jealous?"  
Jou grinned, "You ARE jealous, ha-ha, Seto you should have told me!"

Seto leapt from his chair, a move that always scared the hell out of Jou, "I am not jealous." There was seriousness in his voice that frightened the blonde.

"There is no need to go nuts man. It is part of being human."

Snapped, that is what Kaiba did. He simply lost it. Without even knowing it, he had jumped across the table, and grabbed Jou by the scruff. "How many times do I have to tell you I am not jealous?"

"What the hell, stop freaking out." Jou pushed Kaiba's hands away, and gave him an awkward stare. "You know, I just can't figure you out. You know why, you HIDE things. So, one minute, you are giving me MONEY to go out with someone I might be interested in, and the next minute, you are spazzing because something bothers you. Like, tell me beforehand so we can avoid this will you? Now, what the fuck is your problem?

Seto didn't know why he did it, or even that he WAS doing it. All he knew was in a matter of milliseconds, he was crushing the blonde with his mouth. There wasn't any passion in it, Seto merely touched Jou's lips with his own. And then it was over, as quick as it began.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Seto hung his head. What the hell did he just do?

Jou felt awkward; he made a point to look anywhere but the CEO in front of him. "God Seto, you should have told me something, then I…I have to go now." The blonde made his way back to the elevator. Seto caught his wrist.

"Wait, please."

"Sorry, I just don't swing that way. I mean, that one night was fun and all, but I thought it was all it was, just fun. I didn't know…I thought that you'd…"

Seto didn't say anything; his head was still hung in defeat. There was nothing he could say.

"Let me go, I want to go now."

And that was it. Seto gave up, and let Jou go. The blonde didn't say good-bye, just walked towards the elevator. There were a few tense moments while the elevator clanged upwards, and then when it reached the top, Jou stepped in. He looked at Kaiba before he closed the door, and their eyes met briefly. Confusion, embarrassment, pain, reflected in liquid pools of sapphire and chestnut. Then the iron doors closed, and Jou was gone.

Kaiba gave a hollow laugh, "I just realized," he said, talking to no one but himself, "I just lost my only friend."

* * *

A/N: I know that my spelling has not always been top shape, but there are some words I spell right, but some of you THINK, I have spelled them wrong. For example : Colour. Americans ( and Word) spell it color, but I assure you, this is a proper way to spell it. It is the Canadian way if you will. Flavour, neighbour, programme etc. Are other words that aren't American, so when you see any of these, just think of your Canadian Mistress, and know that they are correct


	5. Rejection

Chapter 5

Seto scanned the headlines of his newspaper, not taking in much that was printed. It was mid afternoon, and he simply had nothing else to do for the day. Well, he had things to do, but the prospect of starting something new and working on it for the rest of the night wasn't his idea of fun. It was a Tuesday, and everyone knows, nothing ever happens on a Tuesday. So Seto Kaiba did the only thing one can do without much exertion of energy…brood.

Brooding had become sort of a pastime for Seto these days. He would brood over people who annoyed him. He would brood over company stocks. But his favourite thing to brood and moan about was Jou.

Poor heart broken Kaiba is what you would think, except we all know Kaiba will never admit to having a heart. So instead, he was wallowing in self pity, for he had been turned down for the first time in his life. And it really sucks.

It had been at least three weeks without a word from Jou. He nearly always popped in Seto's office at least twice a week.

Because of this, Seto seemed to have lost the energy to even duel. The tournament was done in little than a month, and he still needed two more locator cards to qualify for the finals.

Seto wheeled his chair around to face the spacious window that looked down to Domino. Somewhere down there, was Jou, walking along, possibly laughing at some outrageous thing. And here was Kaiba, stuck in his office with nothing to do except brood over what he wished never happened.

Brooding complete, Seto folded and tossed the newspaper on his desk and grabbed his coat and laptop. If he was going to do nothing, he might as well go home and do nothing.

"Your mail has been sitting in reception for three days, did you know that?"

Kaiba didn't lift his head or give any inclination he head a voice at all. He jabbed the elevator button once, twice, three times in agitation.

Melanie got up off her chair, rounded her desk, and approached Seto. She had in her hand, an envelope that she was shaking furiously.

"I told you I needed this three days ago. Other companies aren't going to wait around for you to do your paperwork."

Seto snatched it from her hand and shoved it roughly into his laptop bag. He pushed the button a fourth time, thinking, somewhere in his mind, the more times he pushed the button, the faster his ride home would be.

"You look dead."

At this, Seto turned around; "Don't nag at me today, I don't need it."

Melanie ignored this. "Do you know what I do when I am not feeling well? I have a bath, and eat chocolate. Makes me feel better almost instantly."

Seto rolled his eyes; "As if getting steamy and stuffing my face full of chocolate is going to make me want to be a ray of sunshine for the prospect of another beautiful day wasted sorting files and making sure everyone does their job right. I can't wait until tomorrow." Fifth jab.

"It was only a suggestion. And I was only suggesting it so you don't show up for 'your grueling job' crabby as usual.

Before Kaiba could respond, the elevator reached his landing with a soft ding, and Melanie walked back towards her desk, heels clicking on the marble floor.

* * *

Jou sat back to admire his work. Arranging his locator cards on his desk in new ways he thought looked better than the last. After all, he did have enough, and there wasn't anything better than looking at your ticket to the top, even if the desk had a few stains on it. Actually, Jou had won his last locator card two days ago. Since then he had cleaned his room (which was rarely done), did his homework (which was more so rarely done) and eaten anything and everything in his house (which he did more often than not). 

_If you just talked to him…_

No, that wasn't an option. Jou knew that wasn't an option. Seto rarely talked about anything in the first place, so getting him to spill the beans on any feelings he had for Jou was just out of the question. Seto was Seto, cold, hard, unemotional.

Jou thought about this nonstop. Whenever his was unoccupied, whenever his mind was left to drift along the wayward path of memories better left forgotten, he came to almost always the same exact topic of pondering his pathetic situation with Seto Kaiba.

Deidra had called him a few times in the weeks following his little spurt with Seto outside his office, but he didn't have the heart to call her back. Well, he had other organs really, but that is better left unspoken.

_You can't sleep with a guy and be THAT ok with it._

Well maybe…maybe Jou had a tiny crush on Seto, just a small one. Nothing like what Kaiba probably felt towards him but…_Seto was an attractive, wealthy, intelligent man, all reasons why a little harmless crush is nothing to really worry about_.

Even in his head it sounded dumb. Jou was just trying to justify…how he, would-be-duelist extraordinaire, had fallen for Seto Kaiba in the past months. It was a justifiable cause after all.

That was a lie. Between the doggie costume and the enslavement, Jou had every damn right to hate the rich jerk. But he didn't.

And that is where the problem lay.

He didn't.

* * *

Life returned to normal for Seto Kaiba. As normal as life would allow him to be when his head was in other places. 

If you knew Seto Kaiba, you would understand the little ways in which he convinces himself he doesn't feel a thing.

Seto had a life without Jou in it, and he had functioned properly without him once before. The only thing bothering Seto, the only think knawing at his insides was something he rarely encountered and hated to the bone.

Seto had been shot down. Rejected. And now he was left with what he knew to be his first (and hopefully last) broken heart. His bad mood intensified at the thought of it. The stupid things he noticed about Jou now that he wasn't there anymore, the lack of company his lonely office gave to him around dusk when Jou was usually found lounging about the squishy couch in Kaiba's office.

He had tried. There was nothing left for him to do. He wasn't about to go chasing after something who didn't want to be caught. He didn't work that way. He waited until the late hours of the night for Jou to come knocking, but he never came. He waited for three weeks and then simply gave up. He was hoping for a lost cause.

"Hey, I was looking over the review I just got from—"

"Melanie, how many times have I fucking told you to KNOCK ON THE DOOR?"

Seto jerked his head up, but the door was already closed and his office empty once again. In a personal fit of rage, he threw his papers to the floor and buried his head in his arms. Deep ugly misery gripped Kaiba. Nothing filled the gaping hole in his soul where Jou used to be. Kaiba wasn't totally in love with him, but instead of just being carelessly tossed away, he was left completely alone again. And it was loneliness that hurt him as much as anyone. But Kaiba was a trooper, and he would just have to deal with the hurt alone, like he always did.

Seto shook his head to clear his thoughts, gathered the papers scattered across the floor and began again, the daily routine that had become his life.

* * *

Seto lay in his bed, covers wrapped around his body, in the noise-less house. It was Saturday and he had decided after he had slept in, he was going to spend the day lounging around the house doing nothing, probably get out around eight to grab a couple locator cards, and then retreat back into his domain. 

This way, he would finally be in the tournament, and he still had alone time to brood.

The day looked promising.

Having to drag his body out of bed, Seto stumbled into the bathroom and jumped into the shower. He let the cold water wake his mind up and he began to think.

Jou would probably make it to the finals. Luck just seemed to do it for him, he always seemed to just squeeze in when no one thought he would prevail.

_Stupid Mutt, he couldn't duel his way out of a paper bag._

Seto hadn't said (or thought) about that in a very long time. He was so used to the blonde's company at times like these; he didn't have a reason to come up with insults to throw at him.

More agitated then he would have liked to be so early in the day, Seto threw on some jogging pants and a t-shirt, and went downstairs.

"Cook made pancakes, they're on the stove."

Seto walked into the kitchen and immediately grabbed a plate. Mokuba was sitting at the large island in the middle of the kitchen, reading something off the back of a cereal box. He jabbed his spoon in the direction of the stove.

"Did you want to do anything today?" Seto asked. Not really because he wanted to do something particular, but he rarely saw his brother as it was…

"I bought a new game yesterday; I was going to play it. But I can do that anytime, what did you want to do?" Mokuba looked up from his box at his brother.

"I was going to relax today, maybe go for a swim. So, you can go ahead with your game plan, works for me."

Mokuba nodded and began to read again.

Seto took his breakfast back to his room. His duvet was folded when he returned and after closing the draping on three sides of his bed, he sat down on the scarlet silk sheets and began to think. First he would go to the study and finish and homework he didn't get to the night before. After that maybe he would take a swim, work out for a bit, play some tennis…

How could a house so big make one person feel so lonely? Kaiba could have given up his fortune and not cared if it meant he would have some company just for the day…

* * *

"You didn't return my call on the weekend." 

Jou was trying to shove his too-large back pack into his locker with enough time to spare to get to class. "What?"

"Honda and I have been calling you all weekend, you didn't pick up once!"

"Sorry, Anzu, I was busy all weekend." He was busy doing nothing, but busy all the same.

"Right… well, come out with us this week. We're all going out for dinner on Thursday; see if you can come too."

At last, with a final shove, Jou managed to get his bag into his locker and shut it.

"Geeze, I thought that thing was never going to get in there."

"Did you hear me Jou?"

"Yea, Thursday, I'll see what I can do. I have to get to class now, bye!"

He didn't let her finish but sprinted off in the opposite direction.

_She'll be a hard one to avoid. _Jou couldn't keep avoiding his friends forever, one of these days he was going to have to stop sulking and go along with the rest of his life. It was just so much easier to sulk…

The bell rang. He was late for class again. His sprint turned into a full fledge run, he did not feel like detention today. Jou didn't think he could stand sitting through it.

He arrived in class shortly after the bell and out of breath.

"Sorry I was—"

"I don't care for your excuses, just sit down Katsuya. And don't be late again this week, or it will be detention. Now, as I was saying Seto, you English paper was very well written, I especially liked…"

Jou snapped his head in the direction of the teacher. Sure enough, the day he picked to be late for class, out of breath and in general, a total mess, was the day Seto decided to make a guest appearance in the classroom. This definitely was not a good situation.

Seto looked so good today…his feathery brown hair, his ice blue eyes, and the way his school uniform seemed to fit him just right…

"…that was all I wanted to say, you can go now Mr. Kaiba. Mr. Jounouchi, do you have a problem finding your seat?"

To his horror, Jou realized he has been gawking at the teacher and Seto for long enough.

"I was just—"

Seto walked by him. He never once looked at Jou; he simply treated him as if he was some part of the wall, unworthy of a glance. Jou tried to grab his gaze, but to no avail. The door shut and he was gone.

"Just sit in your seat so we can get on with the rest of class. And don't keep me waiting."

Breaking his trance with Seto's presence, Jou trudged over to his seat, and slumped down. And for some odd reason, he felt increasingly guiltier.

* * *

Jou was now avoiding human interaction with everyone. He preferred time spent alone in his room, writing, or painting, anything to alleviate the numbing guilt in his head. If Jou didn't do something about the entire situation, it would crumble, fall and never be rebuilt. He knew Kaiba wasn't going to attempt anything after being rejected once, but what could Jou say to Seto that could possibly change the situation he was in now? 

Jou doubted his being ready for a relationship with Seto. True, he knew him a lot better than he did some of his friends, but what about everything that comes with a relationship? The fighting, the lying, the hurt one could endure.

Jou saw it as this. Relationships with girls were all the same to him. Girls acted different than boys did, yes, but girls were all the same. The relationships were always the same. You were infatuated with each other long enough to start a relationship. The first few weeks are still flirtatious gestures, demonstrating potential for the relationship. Then there is the sex which fits in around two weeks to a month. After that, the accusations of one party, the tears of another party, the relationship runs astray with both parties until you never see the other person again. Well, not really, that didn't happen to everyone, but in a lot of the cases, it happened to Jou.

But a guy? Guys were secretive, insensitive, and proud, how do you try to explain your feelings to someone of the same sex? Jou could just imagine him and Seto, sharing deep secrets, life ambitions.

The thought was laughable. Jou didn't think he was gay. He was attracted to girls, he liked girls, he never not liked girls, it was always girls with him. I mean, he looked at other guys; sure, he was comfortable with his sexuality, enough so to judge the looks of an attractive male…

Again, the thought sounded stupid in his head. Jou was most definitely bisexual, whether he would admit it or not.

This made Jou feel even worse. He was terrified of rejection, but Seto took that chance for him. Seto was now dealing with the pain of rejection, while Jou only still feared such a thing. In all honesty, his confused state of mind was of no fault, for he had never dealt with situations like these…but he was still acting the part of a coward.

It was time Jou faced his problem, no hiding like a scared animal on the bottom on the food chain. He was Katsuya Jounouchi after all; he could do pretty much anything he put his mind to.

What would he say to Seto? What would Seto say to him? Starting a conversation about feelings when you haven't seen the person you wish to speak to in three weeks, doesn't make part for any ideas that would work convincingly enough to override the mistakes he had made.

In other words, Jou was fresh out of convo topics at the moment.

_Just listen to your heart. If not that, just take your gut feeling._

That usually worked…it could work, it would be a stab at the impossible, but Jou could do it.

He looked down at his watch. It was almost five o'clock. Seto left his office between five and six. If he bolted to that side of the city, he could be there in twenty minutes.

In a frantic attempt to get ready without looking like he had lived in a closet for a few days, Jou made it out of his house in five minutes. Time was wasting, he needed to talk to Seto, and he wanted to do that today. Without thinking of it, Jou took off in the direction of the Kaiba. Corporation skyscraper, hoping he would arrive in time.

* * *

Seto left his blinds open, letting the setting sun spread glorious rays of sunshine across his office room. Right now, people were going home to supper with the family, with high prospects for the next day. Right now, Jou was somewhere out in the city, probably surrounded by a group of friends. Right now, Seto Kaiba was so depressed from all of it, he would have gladly traded in his laptop for a noose. But at he sat typing furiously, the day went on without his permission and he just had to deal with it. 

Seto closed his laptop and shoved it in his bag, along with a stack of papers.He looked down at his watch. It was 5:30. Mokuba would still be watching TV, Seto would probably order in a pizza for the night and review the tournament's standings for the day as usual.

Tucking in his chair and grabbing his coat from the closet, Seto made his way out of the office for the night. He reached for the door knob and pulled the door back.

He was now face to face with Jou, who, by the looks of it, was just about to knock.

There were a few seconds when Kaiba thought his heart was now making its way down his throat. It was only after those few seconds, did he realize he was gaping with his mouth open at Jou, who hadn't said anything yet. He quickly closed his mouth.

"Uhh, Hi!"

"…hi." Coughed Seto.

Moment of silence…

"I was just about to—"

"I wanted to talk about—"

Both stopped talking.

"Sorry, go ahead." Jou gave a small smile.

"I said I was just about to go home for the night. And my preference would be no interruptions on the way, though; I suppose you came here to tell me something of importance right?"

Jou gave a small nod.

"Good, because I don't want to hear it."

Seto Kaiba did not beg, he did not whine and he did not wait. He strode over to the elevator and pushed the button once. He gripped his laptop case rather tightly, and patiently waited for his ride to meet him.

"Seto, I just wanted to talk to you about—"

"I said I don't want to hear it."

The elevator had reached his floor now, and the CEO gracefully walked in and pushed the button for the doors to close.

"Seto, I wanted to say I'm sorry!" Jou was yelling loudly, hoping Seto would hear him and stop.

For a fraction of a second their eyes met, and Seto stared at him without an ounce of emotion, save the rock hard rage that usually dwelled in his sapphire pools.

There was hope in Jou, and a plea that he would reconsider…

"So am I." The elevator doors finally closed, taking Seto to ground level, while leaving Jou hanging on his last three words…

* * *

A/N: Uhhh, I'll save the excuses and you can go on with yelling at me in the review . 


	6. Following

Chapter

By the time Seto had left his office building, the sun had entirely set and small beams of moonlight were being filtered by the branches of trees. The light cast upon the frowning CEO as he walked amongst the shadows of lampposts and rooftops. Kaiba Seto did not beg, he did not barter and he most definitely did not succumb to being humiliated. He was too proud to ever accept an apology after being humiliated in his own office. No, the blonde had lost his chance. He would no longer be waiting around for Jou as he had been doing. He would pick himself up and move on.

But there was a part of his that rejected this cold attitude. It was the part of him that has taken over him the first time he had kissed Jou. It had enveloped him, drove him forward, but he wouldn't acknowledge this part of him anymore. He would kill it. Destroy it. He never wanted to hear from it again.

He plopped himself down on a park bench and leaned back as far as he could. There were no stars in the sky tonight, or if there was, he couldn't see them through the city lights.

Seto sighed. What in the world was he going to do? He was an 18 year old billionaire who was severely infatuated with an 18 year old blonde who lived in a beat up apartment on the wrong side of town. The logical side of Seto's mind told him that this made no real sense, he should just drop it and move on, and that the future looked bleak for such a relationship. And Seto usually listened to his logical side; which made him such a miserable person.

He had a fear of letting someone in, letting someone take advantage of him, toying with his emotions, playing with his feelings.

_But you already know Jou wouldn't do that. You already know it wasn't his intention._

This whole thing made Seto feel vulnerable. It made him feel weak and trapped and not himself. The feeling wasn't entirely bad, but it was new, and Seto could very well have been afraid of it. He liked to think he wasn't afraid…but…he didn't want Jou to laugh at him. He didn't want Jou to take advantage of him and he certainly didn't want Jou prying into his past.

Seto looked at his clock. It was now 10:10. He knew where Jou lived; he could walk to his house. The thought of sitting in his office and waiting for the blonde to come back wasn't appealing. He had the idea he might be waiting forever, and he couldn't always count on Jou coming back to him. Maybe this time, he wouldn't.

If there was something he learned from this, it was that Jou made him feel things he wasn't used to, or never had felt before. Maybe it wasn't so bad being vulnerable. Maybe he should take a chance. Perhaps it would do him some good.

Seto got up from the bench and began walking east.

_You never know until you try._

Jou kicked a pop can into a deserted alley by his apartment building. So much for live and let go. So much for forgiveness. So much for Seto Kaiba.

What did he expect? To just walk into Kaiba's office and everything would be like it used to? Actually, he did expect that. Seto usually was in a bad mood, he also held grudges and it wasn't unusual for him to get angry. But…but this?

Well what the fuck DID he expect? He basically just ran out on Seto, told him _things were fun but I don't swing that way_, and then just left.

Well, first of all, Jou swung in all directions. Left right and centre. Secondly, he should have known Seto wouldn't have lied to him, because this was Seto after all. Aside from displaying nothing but blunt sarcasm and petty insults, Jou didn't even know he had human feelings. And yet, for that brief moment, when their lips touched, something clicked. Something was right. And that made him afraid of everything he has come to know.

Jou dug into his pocket for his house key, as he approached the door to his apartment. He checked his mail box before walking in and turning left. The walls were dirty and he could hear the television in room 106 as he passed the door. He remembered Seto's house, with its polished wood furniture and spotless white walls adorned with pictures. Jou needed out of here. He had no job, no money and nowhere to go. But he needed out of here.

Jou roughly shoved the key into the lock and pushed the door open. It stuck at the top a bit, and he had to jiggle it to fully open the door. Why was the TV on in his house? His father was usually out, Jou had just wanted to come home and go to bed…

"Why're you home so late?"

Jou walked into the small two bedroom apartment and set his key down on the kitchen table. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed the milk carton, ignoring his father.

"I am fucking talking to you."

"Dad, it is only 10:15. I am not late; I went out for a walk."

"You left the house a fucking mess."

Jou turned around; His father still has his eyes glued to the television. A bottle of bourbon in his hand; an empty brandy beside his recliner.

Jou slowly poured himself some milk, "It was clean when I left it."

"It wasn't fucking clean, you never fucking cleaned it."

Jou shut his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "I'll clean it tomorrow, I'm tired."

"No, you're going to get on your hands and knees and clean it right fucking now."

He did not need this tonight. He had already fought with Seto; he didn't need to take shit from his father. Jou's blood pressure was slowly rising. He just wanted to lie down. He grabbed his milk and headed to his room.

"Didn't you hear me? I said clean the fucking mess!"

Jou slammed his glass onto a table in the hallway, nearly breaking it. He marched back to the kitchen and shouted at his father. "I didn't make any fucking mess; everything is your fucking mess. I am not going to clean it up, I am going to bed. Now leave me the fuck alone."

"Don't talk to me like that!" His father shouted back, slurring his words.

Jou sighed around, "I am going to bed now."

His father got up from his chair, stumbling over his feet. He still had the bottle in his hand, and he used the same hand to point his finger at Jou.

"Little to me you little rat, I didn't make no mess in here. It was a sty when I came in. I told you to clean it up and you're going to fucking clean it up."

Jou's head was throbbing painfully. Not tonight, he didn't want this tonight. He hung his shoulders in defeat and reached under the kitchen sink for a garbage bag. He made his way for the living room, and began to pick up the empty beer cans that hadn't been there when he left.

"Fucking talk back to me," he could hear his dad mutter under his breath. Jou ignored him. This wasn't his father. His father would wake up in the morning with a throbbing headache, begging for forgiveness for whatever he had done to Jou the night before. That is how it was every time. His father telling him he would change.

Jou never believed it. The monster that took over his father would always be back, if not the next night, then the one after.

"You really should stop drinking." He reached down for a crushed can of beer.

Jou's father grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and breathed his stale breath to his face, "It ain't your job to tell me what to do boy." Roughly, he threw him to the floor and Jou landed with a thud.

"It isn't you job to drink yourself into stupidity either!" He got up and dropped his bag of cans, a few rolling to the living room floor, and marched to his room. He didn't care about it anymore, he didn't care about the alcohol, he didn't care about Seto, and he didn't care about the other pair of feet following him to his room…

As soon as Seto turned off the main street in Domino, he instantly felt like he was out of place. All the main hussle and bussle of city life on the main drag vanished to decrepit apartments and low class food stores. Which house was it? Which of the many building that looked the same as the ones on the rest on the street? He remembered a convenience store across the street, the lawn in front of the building was dirty and the colour of the brink was a rusty yellow…

Seto saw the store and looked across the street. He knew that was the building, he remembered it. No one was outside. Jou didn't come in early; he always was telling Seto of staying out late. The bench beside the building; Instead of knocking on ever door in the building, Seto would just wait for Jou. He could wait all night, but Jou didn't stay home. He didn't like home. He told Seto this. He could ask someone if he knew their room number, or would that be too creepy? Either way, he couldn't sit there all night, he had left his brother home and he also didn't stay out past 11:00.

The bench had derogatory words carved into the wood among the smears of a sharpie. Seto checked the bench for gum before he sat down and then placed himself on it. How long would he have to wait?

He could hear a door being shut in the building. Was someone coming in or going out? Could he ask him if he knew where Jou's room was?

He stood up again and straightened himself out. His manners told him to be polite to whomever it was that was barreling down the stairs. Quite quickly indeed. Seto was beginning to make an effort in asking whoever was making a racket down the iron steps of the apartment building where he could find his friend, but he never did get the chance to say anything.

His intended posing question was forgotten as someone hit him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. He didn't fall, but staggered for a moment until he realized who it was.

"Jou?"

The blonde looked up at Seto, with sudden fear in his eyes.

"What happened to you?"

His nose was bleeding slightly, a minor cut on his lip was making it swell and the beginnings of a red bruise was forming on the right side of his upper arm. Jou didn't answer him as he swiftly moved past Seto in a desperate attempt to flee.

Seto stopped him by grabbing his arm. Jou flinched, but Seto didn't let go.

"Get off me!" Jou was angry, he just wanted to get away, he didn't want to see Seto… he was the last person he wanted to see. Why had he come? Why now of all time.

"You're hurt."

Jou was trying to wretch his arm out of Seto's grip. "I don't care!"

"I do."

Jou finally got his arm free and took a few steps back from Seto. He stood for a moment and was going to say something, but turned around and walked towards the street rubbing the spot on his arm where Seto had been grabbing him.

"If you didn't realize it before, I came here to talk to you."

But Jou wasn't listening; he had put his hands in his pockets and was walking up the street.

Seto jogged behind him to catch up. "Would you at least listen to me?"

"You didn't seem to want to listen to me earlier."

"Yeah, neither did you," Said Seto catching his breath.

"Go away."

"Make me."

Jou turned around and took a hard look at the CEO. He might have almost caught the faint hint of a grin on his perfect face. He shook his head and continued up the street.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jou laughed, "Whatever it's supposed to mean."

Seto continued beside him for a few seconds, before he spoke. "Your nose is bleeding, onto your shirt."

Jou looked down to see a few red stains on what was a clean blue shirt. "Shit happens."

Seto didn't say anything for a moment. He almost missed the way Jou took things so lightly, before he remembered how much it used to annoy him. Whatever, he could change the subject.

"Where are you going?"

"Yuugi's."

Seto paused as if to think, but he already had it in his head what he wanted to ask. "Come over to my house?"

Jou stopped in his tracks yet again, "What? No, no I don't think so. I am tired and I don't want to deal with you."

"Deal with me?"

"Yeah. What did you want anyways? You shouldn't be walking around here."

Seto raised his eyebrow.

Jou glared at him. A car pulled in the parking lot in front of them and drove to the other side. "Well?"

Seto started walking again. Jou stayed put for a moment, then he was the one following. Seto didn't follow. "You didn't come back."

The blonde shook his head in annoyance, "You always think I am the one that's going to come back?"

Seto grinned, "That's usually how it works, the puppy's' the one that comes to the master."

Annoyed furthermore, Jou added "I wasn't going to."

"I bet you would have."

"Would not."

"You always do."

"I already did." Jou was back in the lead again, in front of Seto. Seto didn't follow.

"You'd have come back."

Jou shook his head, "I didn't want to Seto." He walked a bit further until he could only hear his own footsteps on the sidewalk. He turned to see the brunette stopped a ways behind him.

"You don't make things easy."

Jou was suddenly so angry he could hardly help himself from hitting Seto in the face. He opted to push him instead, which caught Seto completely by surprise. "I finally got sick of you. You're crazy, you're insane, and I have no idea how to read you. You expect me to know what you're thinking all the time and you blame me for just not getting it? Hello Seto, wake up. You don't exactly make things easy for me!"

Still fuming the blonde continued his track.

Seto knew what was going to happen. He didn't care. He also had a right to be angry.

"You don't make things easy either Jou. You always going around with whatever her name is—"

"She works in your office for one. And secondly, I never knew you were fucking jealous!"

"I was not. Jealous. I don't get jealous."

"Come off it, I could tell. You'd tune me out every time I'd open my mouth. I didn't care because you were doing it to yourself. You could have just told me but being as your Mr. High and Mighty, I knew you never would. But you'd sit and wait forever—"

"You blew the whole thing off! Like it just didn't matter. You didn't want anything to do with it. I don't wait around for people to come back. I was the one moving on and you think you can just pick anytime you'd like? Like, you'd think I would be ok with simply waiting on your return? I wasn't going to—"

"You made it seem like it just didn't matter Seto. You're too good at deceiving everyone around you to make them think you don't have any feelings. And you're damn good at it too. What the fuck did you want me to do? Tell me, I am interested; just what exactly was I supposed to do?" Jou wasn't talking as loudly now. They both had stopped walking in front of a grocery store. The lights were out and there were only a handful of cars in the lot. Jou put up his hands in defeat. "You win. You're better at everything, at feeling or doing, or living for that matter, you're better than me. You couldn't have made that any clearer. Now you need to stop playing with me, because it fucking hurts."

"I didn't want to. I never did. And I don't want to stop." Seto could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Vulnerable, it made him nervous. Not afraid…

Jou didn't look at Seto. He had turned his eyes downward to avoid his gaze.Seto sighed and closed his eyes. "My house in this way," he pointed down Emerald Ave.

"I don't—"

"I don't care," said Seto, "I am just telling you. You can walk down the street with your bloody nose all the way to Yuugi's house, or you can catch a ride with me." He didn't wait for a response, but turned down the street and was gone.

Jou cursed himself. Stupid Seto with his pride, he still couldn't break him. Jou seemed to think he would be doomed to following Seto around wherever he went. Like a dog. And Seto expected him to come back every time. Even if he wanted to avoid it, Jou didn't think he ever could.

_Maybe it'll always be like this._

It sort of worked…everything in life you had to work for. The rewards for your hard work are better the harder you work…

_But if I ever didn't want to, then we'd just be…_

He wouldn't think of that, by all rights, he should walk the other way. He didn't see something easy in the future; it was almost a doomed thought that crossed his mind.

_But you want to._

Did he really want to this time?

He looked at the silhouette of Seto walking towards the half moon suspended in the sky. He'd never wanted anything so much in his life.


End file.
